[6] The wrapping of meat or other foodstuffs into dough can be traced back to the Classical Greek or Roman eras.

Early versions of the roll with pork as a filling proved popular in London during the Napoleonic Wars and it became identified as an English dish.

[citation needed] On 20 September 1809, the Bury and Norwich Post mentions T. Ling, aged 75, (an industrious vendor of saloop, buns, and sausage rolls).

[7] The Times first mentions the food item in 1864 when William Johnstone, "wholesale pork pie manufacturer and sausage roll maker", was fined £15 (£1,600 in 2021), under the Nuisances Removal Act (Amendment) Act 1863, for having on his premises a large quantity of meat unsound, unwholesome and unfit for food.

[10] Similar meat and pastry recipes include the Czech klobásník, the Belgian worstenbroodje, the Dutch saucijzenbroodje, the German Münsterländer Wurstbrötchen and sausage bread in the United States.